Train-pipe coupling.



No. 804.005. PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905.

B. E GOLD.

TRAIN PIPE COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED NOV. e, 1903.

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1905.

Application filed November 6, 1903. Serial No. 180,131.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, EDWARD E. GOLD, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Train-PipeCouplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to couplings for hose or flexible pipes usedprincipally for the steamheating pipes of railway-cars. The inventionprovides particularly an improvement upon the coupling of this typewhich is largely in .use for coupling the steam-heating pipes ofrailway-cars and known as the Gold coupler, the same being set forth inPatents No. 475,738, of May 24, 1892, and No. 550,267, of November 26,1895. This coupler is characterized by a rocking or compensating seat orgasket formed as a segment of a sphere and entering acorrespondingly-formed recess or socket in the coupling-head. To form atight joint between the rocking seat or gasket and the coupling-head,the annular seat or gasket has heretofore been formed as a metal shellground to a flat face on its front side and with a yielding compositionon its rear or spherical side, where it fits within the sphericalrecess. My present invention provides an improved constructionapplicable to such couplings.

According to this invention the annular seat or gasket is formed of hardmetal or incompressible material, and a tight joint is obtained byinterposing between the gasket and the coupling-head a packing-ring ofyielding material. The contact-faces of the ring and gasket with eachother are annular and substantially circular in axial section, so as topermit a rocking movement of the gasket to enable the latter to make atrue and tight fit against the reciprocal gasket of the complementarycoupling-head, although the axes of the two coupling-heads may be at aslight angle with each other. The packing-ring is seated immovably inthe coupling-head, preferably fitting a socket therein, the contactfacesof the two being non-circular in axial section. The non-circularcharacter of the reciprocal contact-faces between the couplinghead andthe packing-ring, in connection with a spring which is preferably usedfor holding the gasket and also the packing-ring in place, makes thepacking-ring immovable, while permitting the necessary rocking movementof the gasket. The metal gasket extends beyond the packing-ring, so thatin its inclined as well as in its central position it bears againstsubstantially the entire spherical face of the packing-ring, and thusavoids the deformation which occurs with gaskets of comparatively softmaterial only a portion of the spher ical face of which bears against asocket of metal.

Th e accompanying drawings illustrate coupling-heads embodying theinvention.

Figure 1 is a vertical mid-section of such a head. Fig. 2 issubstantiallyahorizontal section of the same with the parts separated.Fig. 3 is an end view of the coupling-head of Figs. 1 and 2 with thegasket and packingring removed. Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 2,showing another style of packing-ring and showing the parts in place.Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4, showing the effects of long useon the old styleof coupling-head.

' Referring to the embodiments illustrated, A is a coupling-head havingthe usual arm B with the undercut lug C at one side and having the bossor stud D on the other side. The gasket E is of the shape commonly usedin the Gold coupler, but differs therefrom in being made of solid metalinstead of a metallic shell packed with a yielding composition which isexposed on its rear face. (See Fig. 5.).

The gasket E has a plane contact-face F to make a tight fit with thegasket of the complementary coupling-head and is backed by apacking-ring G, of any known or suitable packing material which isadapted to withstand heat and pressure. Vulcabeston is preferred,although various other materials or compositions may be used, such asasbestos packing or a soft metal or alloy. The gasket and packing-ringare held in the couplinghead by means of a spring H. The ends of thespring enter diametrically opposite recesses Jin the gasket, and itsexpanding sides enter notches K in the head and by expanding againstthese notches hold the gasket and packing-ring in place and also holdthe springin its desired horizontal position to permit a slight verticalrocking. as indicated in Fig. 1. The rear or outer face L of the gasketis convex and substantially spherical and bears against a concavespherical face 1 1 of the packingring. As indicated by the sectionalportions of the gasket and packing-ring'in Figs. 1 and 2, the axialsection of the annular contactfaces L and M is substantially circular,so that the gasket is free to rock within the ring.

The ring itself, however, should be immovable, and to this end its rearor outer face is an annulus whose axial section is non-circular. Forexample, as shown in Figs. 1 and Q, the contact-surface of thepacking-ring with the coupling-head is composed of two conical surfacesN and O, the axial section of which is a broken line composed of twostraight portions. The coupling-head is provided with correspondingsurfaces P and Q, preferably forming a socket within the head andfitting the faces N O of the packing-ring. Thus there can be no rockingof the packing-ring in the coupling-head. At the same time theconstructiondescribed provides a packing of approximately uniformthickness throughout, so as to equalize the pressure which is exertedupon the locking or wedging of the heads together and to resist thesteam-pressure.

The particular style of spring shown embraces at once the gasket,packing-ring, and

' head, acting in conjunction with the non-circular contact-facesbetween the packing-ring and coupling-head socket to hold theringimmovable, and acting at the same time in conjunction with thespherical contact-faces of the gasket and the packing-ring and with thediametrically opposite sockets J and notches K to hold the gasketagainst the packing-ring with freedom to rock easily in one direction.

Fig. 5 shows one of the many possible variations of the shape of thecontact-face between the packing-ring and the coupling-head. Saidcontact-face needs only to be non-circular to obtain the fixity desired.In this case the contact-face in axial section is composed of the unionof a circular portion R and a straight portion S, which provides apacking-ring G of substantially uniform thickness throughout. The gasketand holding-spring may be identical with those shown in Fig. 2.

In the type of couplings previously in use, Fig. 5, in which the rearface of the gasket has been made of packing material T in order tosecure a tight joint between it and the metal socket U ordinarily formeddirectly inthe head, it is found that the wear and compression in usedeform the gasket so that the portion within the socket U becomesreducedto a smaller size than the exterior or projecting portion and is pressedback in the socket. Even the metal, ordinarily brass, forming theseating-face F of the gasket is worn away by the harder metal,ordinarily cast-iron, of the coupling-head where the two come intoengagement. Consequently there is formed a shoulder V, caused by aslight bulging out of the soft material beyond the face of thecoupling-head A and by a reduction of the size of the material withinthe socket. The shoulder V, however slight, interferes with the normalrocking action of the seat, and therefore prevents a perfect fit betweenthe two seatingfaces F of the complementary coupling-heads. In thepresent invention the gasket E has its circular seating-face wider thanthat of the packing-ring, so that it extends beyond the ring, and innormal rocking no portion of the ring is left projecting beyond thegasket, so as to be deformed and constitute a shoulder. The packing-ringtherefore cannot, even if it may be worn, take a shouldered shape suchas to interfere with the freedom of movement of the gasket, because itmust be worn or compressed over its entire spherical face, and thegasket being harder than the packing-ring cannot be worn or deformed bypressing or rubbing against the softer packing-ring. The only result ofuse, therefore, is to cause the seat to recede or enter back deeper intothe head by the slight amount permitted by the compressibility of thepacking-ring. Such a recession of the gasket is allowable within certainlimits without interfering with the normal locking together of thecoupling-heads or the tightness of the fit between the two gaskets. Thegasket protrudes somewhat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, to allow both forthe rocking motion of the seat and for a certain amount of compressionor wearing away of the packing-ring. When the packing-ring becomes wornor compressed so that the seat does not protrude suificiently, it iseasily removed by pulling out the seat E in the wellknown manner, (byinserting a hook in the middle bend of the spring H,) whereupon thepacking-ring G may be easily pulled out of its socket. The packing-ringafter long use as well as in the beginning makes a close steam-tight fitwith the gasket and with the socket in the'coupling-head, so that noleakage can occur between it and the, head or between it and the gasket.

The shape and proportions of the parts may be modified to a considerableextent without departing from the essential features of my invention. Itis not strictly essential to my invention that the seat be sphericallyformed so as to be capable of universal motion, it being sufiicient in acoupler of the type shown that it be capable of rocking in onedirectionthat is, around a horizontal axis parallel with the plane ofthe meeting faces. It is preferable, however, that the seat may bespherical, so as to have a universal compensating effect. In couplers ofother types the seat and packing-ring may be correspondingly modified toadapt them to the structure of the coupling.

The seat or gasket E may be of hard metal or any hard incompressiblematerial or may have a hard incompressible outer or meeting face, whichshould be ground or otherwise formed in a true plane to make a tight fitwith the opposite seat. My invention enables the hardest materials to beused for the seat such, for example, as case-hardened iron, or steeltempered to great hardness, or nickelsteel or nickel-copper steelwherebythe seating-face may be made so hard as to be free from injury by gritor other hard substances getting between the seating-faces of therespective coupling-heads.

Though I have described with great particularity of detail certainembodiments of the invention, yet it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. Variousmodifications there- 'of may be made by those'skilleol in the artWithout departure from the invention.

What I claim is A train-pipe coupler comprising a coupling-head, acompressible packing-ring and an incompressible gasket, said ring andgasket having annular contact-faces an axial section of which issubstantially circular to permit a EDWARD E. GOLD.

Witnesses:

THOMAS F. WALLACE, FRED WHITE.

